Forgiveness is Serious Business

Proverbs 17:9 He who covers over an offense promotes love ...

This morning I headed to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee and saw some tasks I had ‘intended’ to do last night staring at me, quite undone this morning. I was miffed at myself about it but promptly justified it. In a matter of seconds I saw the offense, justified it and blew it off. I even tossed in a quick, “Sorry, Lord” for good measure. Then it came…tap, tap, tap.

I hung my head, not because my offense was so dastardly, but because of the nonchalant attitude about letting myself off the hook and less than sincere apology to my Lord. “Really, Girlie, you’re gonna get flippant to the Lord as the start to your day?” You see, if you dismiss your wrongs and failings without so much as a nod of the head, you are setting up a pattern of easily skating through life. Little things become big things and your ‘get off the hook’ card gets bent with so much use…or is that abuse?

You might think this is a bit overboard, it was after all just a few tasks left undone, but follow the line of thinking. I’m not saying we should beat ourselves up over every little thing. I am saying we need to be accountable, as Christians, and not give ourselves permission to slack off when we would surely hold the next guy’s feet to the fire. You might be thinking this doesn’t apply to you. Really? Look around. When was the last time you heard of, saw or had knowledge of something someone had done wrong and made your mind up about the penalty that person should be dealt, yet, you quickly justified your own? Hmmm….  

But, you may say, Jesus paid for our sins and we are forgiven. We are much quicker to forgive ourselves than we are the next guy that offends us. Jesus gives us stern and uncompromising warnings about forgiveness.  

First, we must not try to minimize or dismiss the offense as if it never happened. If it hurts, then we must face it and feel it. A common misconception that keeps people from forgiving is that they think in order to forgive they must come to the place where they look upon the things done to them as being really not that bad. That is excusing, not forgiving.

C. S. Lewis says: "Real forgiveness means looking steadily at the sin, the sin that is left over without any excuse after all allowances have been made, and seeing it in all its horror, dirt, meanness and malice, and nevertheless being wholly reconciled to the man who has done it. That, and only that, is forgiveness."

Second, we must see that forgiveness is not an emotional thing (though it can affect the emotions), but a matter of the will. It is making the decision that the wrong done against you will not count or cause a separation. In making that decision, remember you have all the resources of God available to you. This applies not just to minor matters like snubs, but major matters. The task of forgiving must be more than a match for the magnitude of the pain involved. Our text today makes clear that a choice is involved. No matter how we are wronged, we can choose out of a desire for love to forgive. Jesus Christ looked into the eyes of those who hammered Him to a cross and cried: "Father, forgive them."